American entertainment giant Disney has been revealed to be selling its controlling stake in its Indian business, with Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia and an Indian, as the receiver.
On October 23rd, according to foreign media reports, Reliance Industries Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Reliance"), a company controlled by Mukesh Ambani, will acquire Walt Disney Co.'s Indian business in a cash and stock exchange.
According to Reliance's official website, Mukesh is a chemical engineer at the Mumbai Institute of Chemical Technology (formerly the Department of Chemical Technology at the University of Mumbai) in India. He is pursuing a Master's degree in Business Administration at Stanford University in the United States. Since 1977, Mukesh has been a member of Reliance's board of directors. He launched Reliance's journey of backward integration - from textiles to polyester fibers, to petrochemicals and oil refining, and then upstream to oil and gas exploration and production. The manufacturing facility he created involves various technologies, increasing Reliance's petrochemical manufacturing capacity from less than 1 million tons per year to approximately 21 million tons.
According to the latest data on Forbes' official website, Mukesh's personal wealth value is approximately $83.4 billion, ranking ninth globally and first in Asia.
On the official website of Fortune in the United States, Reliance ranks 88th among the Fortune Global 500 companies in 2023, with a revenue of approximately $109.523 billion.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Walt Disney may sell its controlling stake in the Disney Star business, which is valued at approximately $10 billion, rather than the previously considered fragmented transaction. Some insiders say that Reliance believes these assets are between $7 billion and $8 billion. According to insiders, the acquisition may be announced as early as next month, and some of Reliance's media departments will be merged into Disney Star.
According to the proposal, Disney may continue to hold minority stakes after any cash and stock swap transactions are completed. However, both parties have not yet made a final decision on the transaction or valuation, and Disney may still hold these assets for a period of time.
A spokesperson for Reliance stated in an email that "Reliance will continue to evaluate various opportunities" and will make necessary disclosures as needed.
The news points out that although Disney Star is working hard to cope with the decline in subscription numbers, the media group has not given up on the market and has been investing. According to a Bloomberg report in July, the company has been considering other options for the business, including selling directly or establishing a joint venture. Nevertheless, Disney stated in a statement that its Indian streaming platform still attracted a record 43 million viewers in the 2023 Men's Cricket World Cup between India and New Zealand.